


Going Backwards

by hcb53139 (ravinghazelnut)



Series: Wrong Direction [3]
Category: Captain America, Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers
Genre: Gen, Not A Fix-It, POV T'Challa, Post-Captain America:Civil War, Tony Angst, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, t'challa needs a hug, ugh I hate Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 00:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7245397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravinghazelnut/pseuds/hcb53139
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As T’Challa kneels beside his father’s body, he only feels pure, blinding rage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Backwards

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I haven't posted in such a long time, it's just with graduation and everything, it's been hectic.
> 
> I'm not particularly happy with this one, but I hope you guys enjoy. No matter how hard I try I can't stop blaming Steve because he is a fucking dickhead.

T’Challa stands in the corner of the room; the proud, handsome prince of Wakanda. 

He watches the room as his father tells them about the Accords, a prideful smile on his face, and then…

And _then_. 

His father is gone. 

…

“…the prime suspect of the bombing is James Buchanan Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier,” The lady on TV says, then moves on to the next topic like his father’s death was _nothing_.

T’Challa remembers every detail of this James Barnes’ face from the pixelated footage on the security cameras; every single one, and he will never forget.

 _I will hunt you down_ , is his silent promise. 

…

He’s about to do it, he’s about to get revenge on the man that murdered his father, he’s so close, just one more blow–

T’Challa is hit with a blunt object that manages to damage his Black Panther suit, and he looks up to see a brilliant flash of red, white, and blue. 

He recognizes the man; Captain America. 

“How long do you think you can protect your friend from me?” T’Challa asks the Captain later when they’re sitting in the police car. 

His answer is an uneasy glance and suffocating silence. 

…

Bucky Barnes didn’t kill his father.

…

T’Challa drags Zemo by the collar through the softly-falling snow.

He hears roaring laughter coming from the front of the base, and he makes his way toward the noise to find Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes clutching their stomachs in the snow. He knows that Barnes didn’t kill his father, he knows that Barnes has been brainwashed and used as a weapon in an inhumane way by HYDRA, but he can’t stop the spark of uneasiness as the man’s gaze falls upon him. 

“With all due respect, Your Highness,” Captain Rogers stands up immediately in front of Bucky, “If you try to kill Bucky again, I’ll be forced to fight you.”

“Captain Rogers, I have given up my pursuit of your good friend. This man here is the one responsible for my father’s death, and many others,” T’Challa says back quietly, staring at the now world-renowned _criminals_.

“Besides, you don’t seem to be in possession of your shield anymore.” 

T’Challa doesn’t miss the way that a painful and regretful sort of expression contorts Captain Rogers’ face at the mention of his shield, but he stays quiet and doesn’t say anything about it. 

He provides a sanctuary for the group of outlaws not because he thinks that they’re _right_ , but because he knows that they’re not wrong. 

T’Challa, to a certain extent, admires Captain Rogers’ as a man– he’s loyal, kind, brave, strong-willed– but he can’t help but doubt the man’s ability as a leader. What leader breaks apart his team for one man? What leader doesn’t trust his teammates (T’Challa can tell by the way Steve looks at Stark sometimes)? What leader doesn’t take even just thirty seconds to _listen_?

The first time that T’Challa had questioned Steve’s integrity was when he was still hunting down Barnes, and the man had carelessly smashed his shield into albeit armed, but defenseless police officers that were really just _civilians_.

The second time is at the airport, when he can see out of the corner of his eye as Steve throws a truck on top of the spider….boy….thing. It’s clear from the way the young superhero composes himself that he’s still in his teenage years, and Steve throws a truck on this gangly teenager. It’s obvious that the boy can handle it, but then T’Challa watches as the girl, Wanda, it must be, recklessly uses her powers to release a stream of cars and vans. It buries Iron Man and War Machine manages to get out of the way, and T’Challa calculates the amount of collateral damage in his head. If the people that are quote end-quote “on Steve’s team” are so careless and indifferent to the consequences of their actions, then could their leader really be much better?

The third and last time is when he finds Tony Stark battered and bruised in Siberia, left there to die in the HYDRA base. T’Challa feels pure rage boiling in his stomach as he watches his men lift Stark’s unconscious body from the armor. He had only come back to sweep the area just in case (you never know, not in a world like his), and according to his doctors, if he hadn’t come back, Stark would’ve died very soon. T’Challa thinks about how Steve had just neglected to tell him that he had beat up Tony Stark and just _left him there_ , with no form of communication and beaten to a pulp. 

“Your Highness,” One of the doctors finally walks into the hospital room where T’Challa had been keeping an unconscious Tony Stark company. “I have some bad news.”

T’Challa braces himself for the information, because he’s seen the amount of damage that Captain Rogers can do with his shield, and in this case he had teamed up with the Winter Soldier…

“Um,” The doctor gulps, “I’m afraid…Mr.Stark is paralyzed. There is a high chance that he may never be able to walk again,”

The information still stings and feels like a punch to the gut, as thoughts like _You could’ve done something to prevent this_ surface in his mind. The inexplicable guilt turns into anger at some point; anger towards himself for not knowing any better, anger at Steve for blindly hurting somebody who was supposedly his _friend_ before the entire mess started. 

T’Challa has to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths, but his eyes snap open in alarm as he hears the previously steady beep of the heart rate monitor suddenly spike. 

He’s horrified by what he sees; Tony has woken up, eyes wide and glossy with panic and…fear? “I’m sorry! Please! I won’t do it again! Please stop!” The man chokes out.

“Steve, stop! I’m sorry,” Tony continues to plead, face contorted painfully, “I’m sorry. Please stop. I thought we were friends…..The arc reactor. Stop…” 

T’Challa feels the rage that he had managed to hold down curl in his belly again. He can do nothing but watch helplessly as Tony continues to writhe in pain and fear. He sees a man who has been betrayed one too many times, a man who has tried his best but continues to fail. 

The thrashing continues until it’s so bad that the doctors have to sedate him, and even as the man falls into an unconscious state once again, T’Challa can still see the terror in Tony’s expression. 

He eventually wakes back up, and T’Challa ignores the lump in his throat as he delivers the bad news to Tony. 

Tony doesn’t react quite the way that he had predicted; the man just stares at him silently for a few seconds, then leans back on the bed and closes his eyes. 

Throughout the “war”, he had seen Tony Stark when he was fighting, when he was stubborn, when he was brave, when he was vulnerable, and when he was defeated, but T’Challa had never seen him when he had given up. 

That was exactly how Tony looked as he lay there on the bed limply and silently, so T’Challa just exits the room quietly.

…

 

“Captain Rogers,” T’Challa says coolly, as he walks up to the man who’s sitting by the pond and sketching. 

He feels the rage flare up again at the thought that Steve– technically a fugitive of law, an international criminal– was living such a casual and relaxing life, while Tony was the one suffering and dealing with the consequences of the whole mess (and he’s not just talking about the paralyzation). 

“Your Highness,” Steve says to him, head snapping up and voice cheerful. “How may I help you?”

T’Challa clears his throat and smiles with too much teeth, “I would just like to make it clear that my stance in this war of yours…I do not necessarily agree with your side.”

“Why the sudden clarification?” Steve smiles at him awkwardly, and it’s almost like the man forgets about his question as he quickly adds, “And what do you mean that you do not agree with our side? You’re providing us with shelter, food, and clothing, and for that we are very thankful.”

“Yes, that I am doing, because I believe that you are not wrong, Captain. However, please do not forget that Wakanda was one of the countries that had participated in the original drafting and creation of the Accords,” T’Challa says back evenly.

Steve’s smile drops at this. “So,” He says, “What are you doing right now, then? Kicking us out?”

“No, no,” T’Challa says, “I just have one question for you, after witnessing this entire debacle,”

“Oh, of course! I would be glad to answer your question!” Steve beams at this, mood suddenly brightening again. 

“Was it worth it?” 

“Excuse me?” Steve sits up straighter, brow furrowing.

“In the end, was it worth it?” T’Challa repeats, keeping his face carefully blank. 

“Yes, of course,” Steve says, still frowning, “I got Bucky back, I rescued Wanda, I _help_ people. I help people that are naive, who think they don’t _need_ to be helped. Although I’m probably not welcome back in the United States, I believe that it is a sacrifice that I need to have made. Yes,” He says this part quieter, almost to himself. “I help people.”

“But, Captain,” T’Challa says, trying to keep his temper even, “Were you aware that while you were helping Barnes escape–both times– eighteen soldiers were injured and five killed in your combined efforts?”

“That’s not–” Steve says, then takes a deep breath, and looks at T’Challa as if he can’t believe that T’Challa is contradicting him. “I’m very apologetic about the deaths and injuries, but it was necessary; you don’t know what they were going to do to Bucky–”

“And the needless battle at the airport, again,” T’Challa continues as if he hadn’t heard Steve, “Cost approximately thirteen billion dollars in collateral damage,

“You say that you help people, Captain, but do you really?” Steve looks confused, then angry.

“Of course I do! What are you implying?”

“That the only person you were helping was Bucky Barnes!” T’Challa says, finding himself to be angry because how dare _Steve_ be _angry_. He has no right. “You disrespected other people’s choices, other people’s homes and lives for one man, who right now is stuck inside of a freezer. Captain, did you even comprehend the fact that the Accords were actually drafted by more than one hundred countries? That’s one hundred countries that don’t want overly-capable people like yourself to be running across borders and doing whatever you want without supervision or restrictions. That’s one hundred countries who want to maintain control over their own home.”

“But when they want to maintain control over their home, it can get destroyed! What I want is the best for everybody involved!” Steve shouts, standing up with clenched fists.

T’Challa just levels him with an unimpressed gaze, “My apologies for suddenly starting an argument. It just saddens me that even after this entire war of yours, even with all the casualties, all the damage, all the loss, all the destruction, that you have learned nothing at all. That you still believe you are in the right, and that anybody who dares oppose is incorrect,”

Steve just stares, shocked and angry.

“And what is perhaps the most horrible fact is that Tony Stark,” Steve’s eyes widen at the mention of Tony, “The man who was just trying to make things easier for everyone, the man who tried so hard only to be shot down by the people he trusted, suffered the most of all.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asks, jaw clenched.

“You will see,” T’Challa says, now casting his eyes downwards and shaking his head. “You will see, and you will be ashamed.”

…

The archer– Clint, T’Challa remembers– and the girl with the red magic (Wanda) throw absolutely ridiculous accusations at Tony, and he looks at the man in question’s face; expression carefully blank, only the tiniest downturn of the corners of his mouth showing that he’s unhappy. 

T’Challa can only feel a sense of sadness at what he witnesses; all the people in this room were people that Tony would’ve called his friends, his _family_ , and these people, the only people in the world that Tony Stark would’ve trusted, had betrayed him. They had turned their back on him when it mattered the most, and now they just watch silently as Tony– the man that would’ve died for them, the man that had provided them with shelter and food and clothing and money, the man that was their teammate– is berated and accused of outrageous things. 

“Enough!” T’Challa finally yells as his anger finally gets the best of him, and as he wasn’t sure what he would do to them if Clint and Wanda kept talking.

“Tell them.” He says to Tony, because these people; these selfish, moronic, _stupid_ people need to know the consequences of their actions. 

T’Challa watches Steve’s face contort; first with shock, disbelief, anger, then regret, and finally, guilt. 

_It’s too late now_ , he thinks.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and vote!


End file.
